Method of making foundations for toupees



June 5, 1962 P. s. HESS 3,037,261

METHOD OF MAKING FOUNDATIONS FOR TOUPEES Filed Aug. 22, 1957 INVENTOR Pfil/L 6. H555 A ORNEY United States Patent 3,037,261 METHOD OF MAKING FOUNDATIONS FOR TOUPEES Paul S. Hess, West Orange, N.J., assignor to General Plastics Corporation, Paterson, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Aug. 22, 1957, Ser. No. 679,658 4 Claims. (Cl. 28-74) My invention relates to a method of making foundations for toupees.

Many individuals in the entertainment world are, like other persons in more prosaic callings, subject to the loss of their hair. The occurrence of baldness in persons in the business world will not interfere with their livelihood. Such persons may wear toupees for aesthetic reasons or for reasons of personal vanity. Young men may consider that they are less attractive to young ladies and for this reason wear toupees.

In the entertainment field, however, baldness may cause a real economic loss and for this reason entertainers must frequently wear toupees if they are to retain their popularity.

Toupees are made by using human hair as a sewing thread and carefully stretching hair onto a foundation of fabric. In order to retain the toupee in place use is usually made of an adhesive. After a while toupees become soiled and they must be subjected to cleaning. Frequent cleaning destroys the natural appearance of a toupee and causes comparatively rapid deterioration requiring replacement of the restoration.

Besides this, it is difficult to properly clean most toupees without deleteriously affecting the fabric to which the hair is sewn. Fabrics are tinted to match the skin color. After cleaning the color begins to fade and the foundation upon which the hair is sewn becomes discolored. This destroys the illusion of naturalness which is so desirable in a toupee.

One object of my invention is a method of making foundations for toupees which are strong and substantially invisible, thus forming a firm foundation for the hair.

Another object of my invention is to provide a methd of making contoured foundations for toupees.

Other and further objects of my invention will appear from the following description.

In general my invention contemplates the provision of a fabric net formed of filaments of nylon, (a polyamide resin made by the polymerisation of hexamethyl-enediamine salt and adipic acid), or Dacron, (a brand of synthetic fiber made by the condensation of dimethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol, made by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.) or glass fibers woven either in a basket weave or as a jersey fabric. A very light fabric weighing .30 ounce per yard or more may be employed. If glass fibers are used the average fiber diameter should not exceed microns.

The fabric net is stretched over a form contoured generally to the shape of a human head thereby opening the interstices of the net and exposing the surface of the form at the interstices. This form may be made of wood, but is preferably made of metal. It is heated to above the boiling point of water. After the fabric net has been stretched over the heated form it is sprayed with an aqueous dispersion of nylon. After the film of nylon is air-dried it is subjected to baking. The finished foundation is then removed, cut into the desired shape and is ready for the application of the hair to form the toupee.

In the accompanying drawings which form part of the instant specification and which are to be read in conjunc- 3,037,261 Patented June 5, 1962 tion therewith and in which like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the various views:

FIGURE 1 shows a finished toupee foundation made in accordance with my invention.

FIGURE 2 shows one form of apparatus capable of carrying out the method of my invention during the spraying stage.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view drawn on an enlarged scale taken along the line 3-3 ofFIGURE 2.

Referring now to the drawings, the form 10 is generally hemispherical in shape and may be contoured generally to the shape of a human head. While the form may be made of wood and heated by a current of hot air, I prefer to make it out of metal and heat it positively by means of a gas flame issuing from burner 12. The exterior surface of form 10 is preferably coated with a layer 14 of Teflon, (a plastic made by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. consisting of tetrafluoroethylene copolymer). This has the advantage of enabling the ready removal of the finished toupee foundation as nothing sticks to Teflon. The temperature of the metal is maintained between 212 F. to 350 F. I provide a plurality of spikes 16 similar to curtain stretcher pins to enable me to stretch the net 18 over the form 10.

I form an aqueous dispersion of nylon preferably by the process described in my copending application Serial No. 547,095 for Method of Making Aqueous Dispersions of Nylon, filed November 16, 1955, now Patent 2,951,054. Any appropriate concentration of nylon may be employed. Generally I do not use more than 10% of nylon in the dispersion. This will form a coat 20 of considerable thickness. I may, if desired, use a dispersion having a nylon content as small as 1% by weight or less. The lower the concentration of nylon the thinner will be the film of nylon formed. The higher the concentration of nylon the thicker will be the film of nylon formed.

The nylon dispersion may contain a flesh-colored dye so as to render the toupee less noticeable. The continuous film thus formed, however, will generally be suflicient- 1y thin so as to be translucent or transparent. The purpose of heating the mold above 212 F. is to enable the water in the nylon dispersion to flash off. I prefer to have a coating in the neighborhood of 4 mils in thickness. After the dispersion has been sprayed over the nylon net it is allowed to dry for a short time, usually 5 to 10 minutes. The elevated temperature prevents the film from becoming tacky. The foundation may then be baked in an oven at any appropriate temperature from say 15 minutes to one hour, depending upon the temperature to complete the thorough evaporation of any residual moisture.

The toupee foundation 22 is removed and is then ready for the sewing onto it of the hair. It is to be understood, of course, that the toupee foundation is generally sterilized by steaming before the sewing operation commences. It will form a strong anchor which is not affected by adhesives. It can be cleaned and subjected to germicides without injury. It may even be sterilized by steaming without changing its shape or contour. In place on the head its translucency or transparency is such that the skin shows through and it is extremely diflicult to detect its presence. Properly secured to the head by an adhesive the wearer may go swimming and even dive with a toupee without revealing that it is being worn.

It will be seen that I have accomplished the objects of my invention.

My method of making foundations for toupees provides a toupee which is substantially invisible and is contoured to fit the head of the wearer.

My method of making foundations for toupees provides 3 a toupee which is not affected by adhesives and which can be cleaned and sterilized without harm.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of my claims. It is further obvious that various changes may be made in details within the scope of my claims Without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is therefore to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A method of making foundations for toupees including the steps of stretching a fabric net over a form having a curved surface to open the interstices of the net, heating the surface to a temperature between 212 F. and 350 F., spraying an aqueous dispersion of nylon over the net and heated surface in sufiicient quantity to bridge said interstices while simultaneously evaporating the moisture from the dispersion and then further drying the same to form a 4 substantially continuous layer of nylon over the fabric net. 2. A method as in claim 1 in which said fabric net is References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,545,369 Tizley July 7, 1925 2,428,071 Goldsmith Sept. 30, 1947 2,686,348 Goldsmith Aug. 17, 1954 2,867,889 Thompson Jan. 13, 1959 2,907,334 Le Mole Oct. 6, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 637,313 Great Britain May 17, 1950 

1. A METHOD OF MAKING FOUNDATIONS FOR TOUPEES INCLUDING THE STEPS OF STRETCHING A FABRIC NET OVER A FORM HAVING 